Iron ore prices slid through April 2023 from their mid-March peak above $133 a tonne, as a sharp drop in Chinese steel prices pushed mills into losses and forced production cuts. Finished steel prices fell faster than raw material costs, so blast furnaces began taking maintenance shutdowns: the pig iron output lost to maintenance rose through the month, and mills in Shanxi, Shaanxi and Sichuan were among those cutting back. China's National Development and Reform Commission also warned against unreasonable rises in iron ore prices, adding to the downward pressure. By early May the benchmark price was approaching $100 a tonne, and the steel industry's purchasing managers' index had slumped to 35.2, its lowest in ten months, with new orders at their weakest since July 2022.
Source: Mining Journal — https://www.mining-journal.com/bulks/news/1454992/iron-ore-makes-china-stimulus-mirage
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (freely licensed).